Thursday, July 10, 2014

@ShannonRWatts: State Gun Laws Don't Work...Even In State

"We always hear Illinois has some of the most extreme gun laws in the
nation, that if gun laws worked, Chicago's strict laws would make it a
safe haven," Watts says. "But the borders around Chicago are invisible.
The guns stream in from Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi."Indeed, 43 percent of the guns seized by Chicago police were
originally purchased in other parts of Illinois, and 57 percent came
from out of state, according to ThinkProgress."That's only going to be stopped by a federal law," Watts says.

So like most people, she has trouble recognizing that 'Illinois' /= 'Chicago'. Illinois has licensing, universal background checks, waiting periods yet nearly half of the guns the CPD confiscates are from Illinois. Does she think that a FEDERAL law will suddenly change that?

Guess what Shannon, the borders around the STATE are invisible. The borders around the COUNTRY are invisible. The strict laws don't even work in Illinois, why do you think they'll work in the country?

I wish I could find the original study--- in tracking down the story from the story about Watts in the Chicago Trib you go to Think Progress then you go to City Labs which presents tables which purport to add up to 100% but do not. That story in turn leads back to another story from the Trib here:

Now this is interesting because you find out that the previous articles did not accurately report the facts (surprise). What the facts are:

"The study covers 17,230 guns the ATF successfully traced after they were recovered in Chicago. Many guns can't be traced because of their age or other factors, said Seth Bour, the Crime Lab's deputy director."

Now even though I could not find the original report, I did find another report issued by the Mayor's office (calling for stricter state laws) which reported that 57% of the short term "time to crime" firearms (2 years or less) originate from Illinois

“This is common sense gun legislation that will protect the rights of responsible gun owners while helping to keep illegal guns off the streets,” said Mayor Emanuel. “56 percent of short time-to-crime guns recovered at Chicago crime scenes originate in the State of Illinois, but outside of the City of Chicago. A state law requiring handgun owners to register their guns – just like they register their cars – will increase the safety of our residents.”